Labor / Flexible hours, unpaid overtime and wages less than 700 euros

It seems that the leadership of the Ministry of Labor is ready to put “water in the wine” in the implementation of the digital work card, despite the fact that we are still at the beginning of the implementation of the measure and from next month it is expected to be extended to industry and retail trade, which will concern a total of 100,000 businesses and 600,000 workers.

This conclusion emerges from the image of the labor market, but also from what the SEB officially supported in a recent conference, in the presence of the Minister of Labor D. Michailidou, pointing out that the implementation of the measure does not automatically mean effectiveness for the rights of workers, such as the observance on the business side of hours or overtime pay. While it can, as he notes, accumulate “bureaucratic obligations” and obstacles to the smooth operation of businesses, even leading to the opposite of the intended result.

Delinquency at 50%

And of course, this specific position does not mean any “worker-friendly” approach of the industrialists, on the contrary, it is perceived as maintaining the “employer acquis” as a whole, such as flexibility in working hours and unpaid overtime, which concern almost 80% of the violations in the inspections of the Labor Inspection Body (APR). It is characteristic that in a total of 580 companies that were recently checked, 50% of violations of labor legislation were found. Of the 5,152 workers who were checked, 767 were found to be affected: 29 as undeclared and 576 for violating work time limits, while the other violations found were only 162.

The publication of the expansion of the digital work card in industry and commerce (banks, supermarkets and security companies have preceded it, while from the summer it will be extended as a pilot to tourism businesses and the catering industry, as “it is not our intention to operate with the “dirt” , punitive, as argued by the Minister of Labor) was accompanied by a significant reversal, which favors the maintenance of the offending practices and above all the flexibility of work sought by employers, usually invoking extraordinary needs in operation and production.

Working hours and overtime with managerial right

And this as the Ministerial Decision on the extension of the digital work card provides for the abolition of the pre-announcement system for registering changes in hours, but also overall working time, including overtime. The so-called “account entry” in the Ergani II electronic system means that employers and businesses can now post-date, i.e. at the end of each month, the changes they have made in working hours in the previous period. In other words, the digital work card can turn out to be a “blank letter”, as the accounting entry of changes preserves the managerial right to apply working time, including overtime for employees, as any changes in this way “legalized” and declared at the end of each month.

BSE: Angulations

Even with this important change, which works to a large extent “protective” for employers, the BSE calls for even more flexibility, even going so far as to talk about brackets that prevent even better pay for more work! “Using digital technology is not a guarantee in itself, but must be complemented by realism and functionality in order to be effective… Our goal today must be to address the paradox: Employees want to work more, businesses to they want to give better pay, but regulatory anchors to prevent both sides”.

Flexibility and salaries less than 700 euros

However, the image of the labor market, as reflected in Ergani’s annual report, for 2023 has two very specific characteristics: great flexibility and low wages. In particular, 1 in 4 employees works under a flexible employment regime, while at least 1 in 3 is paid less than the minimum wage, i.e. below 700 euros.

According to the data of the report, while employment increased in total in 2023 by 47,000 jobs, a significant part concerns work of a few hours per week. It is characteristic that jobs for employment up to 2 hours per week increased compared to 2022 by 6,010, while the weekly employment of workers from 20 to 35 hours increased by 4,920. In total, flexible and part-time workers account for 1 in 4 jobs, reaching a total of 500,000. From 20 to 35 hours a week 268,182 workers are employed, from 10 to 20 hours a week 215,857 workers and with employment from 4 to 10 hours 61,410 workers. As we mentioned, 350,000 workers are registered with employment up to 4 hours a week.